Antigravitas

Shouting into the wind

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:00:29 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

11:15 Caught up on critiques. Drove into the town of Ocean Beach for supplies. No phone or Net at Iron Springs. #
11:22 Whoops! Town of Ocean City, not 'Beach'. Did drive onto th beach here though. Nice, but must get back to Iron Springs. #

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Shouting into the wind

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:00:24 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

06:28 Woke on my own, half an hour before the alarm went off. Felt rested! Cleared email and RSS feeds. Now already productive! #
06:29 Today: Work at home. Go in to the office. Try to leave before the traffic spins up. Drive to coast for Iron Springs Writer's Retreat. #
15:31 Apparently Michael Jackson has died. Somehow it just seems for the best, doesn't it? #
15:34 On my way to Iron Springs Writer's Workshop. Freeways clogged, opted for Ferry to Bremerton instead. Prettier drive anyway. #
18:33 Having dinner in Shelton with my daughter, who lives near. Very authentic Mexican! Next, back on the road. #

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Shouting into the wind

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:00:21 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

09:55 Working at home this morning, writing XML schemas. Funny how much harder using XML becomes when you apply rigor. #
15:19 At home all day, working steadily. Still in my jammies! Much done, but need to take a caffeine break right now or it all grinds to a halt. #

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Shouting into the wind

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:00:31 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

11:59 Taco Tuesday at Taco Del Mar. Lunch perfection! #

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Shouting into the wind

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:00:24 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

07:45 How *not* to use #twitter for #business - www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/103334 #
14:01 Ditto! RT @hal_kent: .@daviddlevine: congrats on the Analog sale. #
17:30 Traffic wasn't bad this morning. Why does it suck so bad now? #

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Shouting into the wind

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:00:17 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

09:47 Today is chore day. With extra grandson. #
17:24 Blog post: The revolution will be Tweeted - jackwilliambell.livejournal.com/234937.html #rant #iranelection #
17:40 RT @GreatDismal RT @DougCoupland A piece [he] did for the Economist for the Mac at 25 bit.ly/7AqCw Couldn't agree more. #
19:33 At Outback Steakhouse in Tacoma, waiting for my daughter. First time she ever arranged a Father's day dinner. #

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The revolution will be Tweeted

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:40:24 GMT

I wanted to start this essay with this sentence: "Like everyone else I have been fascinated with recent events in Tehran and the role of social software in them."

Only I can't.

You see, despite the fact the mass media are finally reporting about the Iran election protests and the role of Twitter (among other Internet tools) in them, pretty much only people actually playing in that space are paying attention -- and not all of them. And, of that subset, fewer still are really thinking about what this means to the future of social unrest and grass-roots political action.

Even of those Twittering with the hashtag #iranelection or those who have turned their Twitter icons green
in sympathy; most have no real connection to events there, other than a wish to support what appears to be mass uprising against the mullahs. A 'freedom' movement. We (and I count myself among this crowd) actually do not understand the real situation on the ground there, communicated to us in a storm of 140 character bursts and links to images; all a complicated mess of fact, rumor, and deliberate misinformation. Worse, we misinterpret the protester's motivations. Their actions. Even their goals.

We don't really understand. We tend to see everything through our own eyes. Forgetting, or never knowing, that the meaning of the word 'freedom' is somewhat different for us than for the protesters in Tehran. There is a cultural gulf here and few of us are crossing it. Most of us are almost guaranteed to be disappointed in the end! Even if they are successful, the protestors are not seeking to replace the mullahs with Western-style democracy. They want, and will get, an Iranian system.

And yet it remains compelling. It feels as though we are watching, even taking part in, the first software-mediated revolution. So we raise our own voices in a worldwide howl for attention. And that attention has been returned in the form of arrests and killings of those daring to use these social tools to protest and organize protest. All while the rest of the world remains mute.

(Sidebar: If every tweet with the #iranelection hashtag not posted by an Iranian was replaced with a dollar, the amount of money raised to assist the protests or rebuild the broken lives arising from them would more than suffice. Yet attention is a currency of its own, with value not easily measured in ducats. Still, attention doesn't pay hospital bills or help bribe jailers for the release of a young man who's only crime consists of words in Persian tapped on the keys of a cell phone.)

For me the most interesting thing here is the thing itself. As in the last U.S. election. As in Guatemala recently. As in every case where a spontaneous social upheaval finds itself being organized and broadcast to the outside world via social software tools. This is significant. This is new! This is proof we live in a future weirder than even William Gibson (Twittering as GreatDismal) could predict!

It makes me wonder about the future of software in politics and social discourse. What if the tools were just a little richer? Just a little more commonplace? Would the chaos of #iranelection be replaced by a system of vetted commentary over anonymous channels? Would we get an instant protest-wiki, edited into usefulness with the cultural background and history required to understand what is really happening? Would we have systems for raising money and getting it to those in need with a minimum of graft and waste?

And, more importantly, would our own governments find these tools to be instruments of freedom or dangerous channels for terrorists?

But that's not the punchline. No, this little joke has a real zinger: When (not if) such tools become available to us, they will not be intended for social upheaval. Instead they will exist for the same reasons that Twitter and Facebook and LiveJournal exist. They will exist so we can talk. So we can share who we are with the world.

And that is the kicker. Because who we are includes what we believe. And, in the end, that is the best hope offered by these tools. Maybe we will overcome our differences because we actually talk to each other. From this, I dare to hope that one day the idea of someone like myself supporting people in Iran who believe things about Jews, homosexuals, and women I could never agree to would seem a little less bizarre.

Shouting into the wind

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:00:18 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

08:44 Solstice parade today. It also looks like I will have my grandson for the weekend. Both are good things for different reasons. #

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ETA: So I didn't twitter the rest of the day, but the Solstice Parade was great! I don't think I've ever seen so many nude bicyclists and the floats/marching groups were both funny and awesome. We had a great group there, but it kind of fractured when the parade was over.

Afterwards we had lunch, where we were joined by my friend Rusty and his girlfriend Megan. Next Rusty, Megan, my grandson, scarlettina, and myself went to the Woodland Park Zoo and then back to Fremont to explore the fair and eat some fair food. (And it was pretty fair food, considering.)

Finally back to scarlettina's place, where we watched My Neighbor Totoro. And then, finally, finally home. All in all a long and fun day.

Shouting into the wind

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:00:30 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

06:16 This morning my iPhone became an iBrick. Looks like the dev version of OS3.0 expired, but iTunes keeps insisting it is up to date. :-( #
06:38 Looks like iPhone 3.0 beta to release upgrade is a significant Apple #fail. Found a trick to force it in the developer forms though. #
07:02 Well, I have a working iPhone again. But it lost all my settings, apps, music, and contacts. Serious Apple #fail here. #
07:08 @rogdef First I couldn't upgrade at all from beta. So I had to force full reset by holding home button. Then it failed to restore. #
07:24 @dj_ir0ngruve Didn't have a choice. iPhone 3.0 beta expired this morning without warning, bricking the iPhone. Major Apple #fail! #

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Shouting into the wind

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:00:32 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

07:59 Had the hardest time waking up this morning. I may not beat everyone else into the office today. :-/ #
13:12 But, now I want one! RT @warrenellis Merchandise I must never make: a t-shirt bearing the words WARREN ELLIS PUT HIS DISEASE IN ME #
13:28 @GreatDismal But what about the times when the pragmatic choice is to plan pessimistically and hope for the best? #
19:39 Dinner at Stell's with @JESilverstein. #

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Shouting into the wind

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:00:29 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

08:00 They put out mouse traps in the office last night. This morning I came in and found a twitching mouse in a trap next to my desk. #
08:49 Large collection of links RE: #IranElection - cyrusfarivar.com/blog/?p=2169 #
19:04 At the weblog meetup. Tweeting is tonights topic. #
21:20 My neighbor, who runs a fruitstand, just gave me three pounds of cherries. Yummy! #

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Shouting into the wind

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:00:34 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

08:18 @YuekHahn It says you like grilled meat products. #
09:28 Those in the know will note that I have a green icon. Those who actually know *me* will note that I've *always* had a green icon. #
10:38 The game @JESilverstein is working on: www.aiononline.com/us/ #
10:39 Opera Unite looks very interesting to me, partially because it resembles an old thought experiment of mine: unite.opera.com/ #
13:23 RT @lisaspindler Sullivan running "a constantly updated feed of the best tweets [from] the resistance, real time:" tinyurl.com/mdwsns #
13:24 Twitter as a social tool leads naturally to Twitter as a social uprising tool; see Guatemala two weeks ago, Iran today #
13:26 Those not following #Tehran and #iranelection are missing the most amazing story of the year. Amazing and scary. #
00:20 New blog post: Vanishing Point - jackwilliambell.livejournal.com/233457.html #

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Vanishing Point

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:18:50 GMT

The more things change, the more we want them to be like they used to be. (Except for when we don't.)

Back in the 1970s I spent a lot of summer nights in local drive-in theaters south of Seattle. Victims of changing demographics, the video tape player, and rising land prices of the 1980s, drive-in movies are rare today. Rarer still is the drive-in that runs a three or four movie slate on weekend nights with a single price per car-load; making itself into a place for youth with nothing else to do to hang out on a hot summer evening.

So, thirty-five plus years ago I was among the thousands of local kids flocking to the Valley or the infamous El Rancho (aka the 'El Rauncho', home of the triple feature 'cannibal night' on Thursdays). We would pack a car with beer, snacks, and teenagers and spend our night talking and laughing and, sometimes, watching the movies.

One of the perennial features of those triple and quadruple feature nights was a chase film that has since become a cult classic: Vanishing Point. Perhaps the victim of a bad distribution deal or some other factor which made it cheap to show, it seemed like Vanishing Point came back to the drive-ins two or three times every summer. In any case I must have seen it a good half dozen times back then, but I never quite figured it out. Vanishing Point is a very strange story, which ends with its beginning or begins with its end, and seems to come as close to making sense in between as you possibly can without actually getting there. The whole thing is imbued with a quirky philosophy, from the dialogue to the very structure of the movie.

The teenage me loved it.

A few years ago I rented the video and it didn't hold up so well. To my older eyes the philosophical messages seemed a bit heavy handed and obvious. Still, that DVD did bring back to mind those nights of beer and marijuana-fueled laughter. It helped me to remember being seventeen and as free as my dodge van could make me.

For some reason I got to thinking about Vanishing Point when I was drifting off to sleep in my hotel room last week. I got to wondering if perhaps someone should re-make the movie as a modern piece. To make some of the same existentialist points. To try and illuminate the modern condition in the way the original tried to illuminate the aftermath of the Summer of Love.

So imagine my surprise when just last night I was scanning channels, looking for stuff to Tivo, and I ran across a 1997 remake of Vanishing Point starring (of all people) Viggo Mortensen. Kismet, no?

No.

I watched the movie tonight and, great ghu, it was awful. The only philosophy in the whole thing was a muddle of bad libertarian thinking and a short burst of completely misinterpreted American Indian spiritualism. And the worst part? They tried to put an actual story into the story, giving the main character an understandable motivation.

OK. That wasn't actually the worst part. The worst part is the way they completely broke the ending, by grafting on an actual ending in place of the unassailable oroborosian logic of the original.

I still think Vanishing Point is a movie that could be remade into something at least as good as the original. But if that wish leads to made-for-TV crap like this, I'd rather do without. Just like I'd rather download a movie than watch it through the smeary windshield of a car full of teenagers and smelling of stale beer.

You see, the more things change...

Shouting into the wind

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:00:29 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

06:36 I thought of something to say, something simple and amazing, which could crystalize into a movement towards world peace. Then I woke up. #

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Shouting into the wind

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:00:21 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

13:35 Off to Bellingham for a #valhallacon meeting. # (edited valhallacon)
15:02 Passed a car fire on N I5 just S of exit 210. twitpic.com/7ey9f #

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Shouting into the wind

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:00:27 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

14:50 Home all day. Doing the cleaning and other domestic jobs undone in the last two to three weeks. Sadly, I do not expect to clear my tasklist. #
16:42 Finally fixed the tailight on my motorcycle. Much harder than it should be due to engineering choices of the Kawasaki designers. #
23:03 @JESilverstein :-P #

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Shouting into the wind

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:00:33 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

08:14 Last day of #wwdc. Soon home and a chance to sleep in something that doesn't make my back hurt all day. #
11:08 @jay_lake 12 / 20+ #
11:27 After giving it hard thought, have decided to stay and do afternoon sessions at #wwdc instead of going to the computer history museum. #
13:54 Last #wwdc session about to start. Then collect bags and figure out how to get to airport. Been an interesting week. #
15:19 @JESilverstein - you don't have to tweet you know. You can just follow. #
15:59 At airport, on standby for an earlier flight. Here's hoping! #
16:27 Didn't make the cut for this flight. Only hope is someone didn't show up. Preferably someone in first class. #
16:37 Heh! My bag made the flight anyway. I just saw them load it. #
18:23 Two Seattle flights are loading now, one after the other. No clue if I will be on one or not. #
18:48 So, yay! Made it onto flight A 303. I'll get to Seattle hours ahead of schedule. #
20:44 Just landed. Hello Seattle! #
21:36 At this rate, waiting for the Shuttle Express van to fill up and drop everyone off is going to take longer than the plane ride. #
22:21 Home! Nighty night tweetybirds. #

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Shouting into the wind

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:00:27 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

06:26 @doctorow Bad news. They might be closing the Tonga Room: www.savetonga.com/ #tiki #
08:12 Tim Berners-Lee says "We no longer fully understand the web." bit.ly/XxFK6 #
12:12 @jay_lake Waaahh! I don't have enough style to write like Jay Lake! #
20:01 The rumor is true: Cake is playing for the #WWDC bash. #
20:20 Dude! Cake! #wwdc twitpic.com/765fr #
22:11 Whatta sausage festival that was! First rock concert I've ever seen with a line at the men's room and no line at the ladies. #wwdc #

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Shouting into the wind

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:00:33 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

08:29 Ahh. Another day of Apple indoctrination! iPhone-ate me, please. #wwdc #
16:15 Today's #wwdc got sidelined by #work over and over again, to the point I hardly finished even one session. Phone conferences, we hates you! #
16:26 Well, when the going gets tough, the tough go to the Tiki Bar. I'll be at the Tonga Room tonight from 5 to 6 (or so). Join us! #wwdc #
17:27 The Tonga Room very much the classic Tiki bar! I'm already getting an island attitude. Mahalo dude! #
17:30 (Snicker. Nice. Uh-huh.) RT @warrenellis: Hello if @johnperrybarlow just sent you over. Pay him no mind, I'm really a very nice person #
19:00 So far I am down one Mai tai, one piña colada, and one tonga tart. Mellow much? #
19:03 @doctorow Am hanging at the Tonga Room with friends. I assume you've been here but, if not, you'd love the fake rainstorms! #
20:31 Found the SproutCore folk. Soon to be a mass geek exodus to the WebKit party. #wwdc #
21:15 Back to my room early tonight. Must get up and work before sessions tomorrow. I hope that insulates me from interruptions all day. #wwdc #

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Shouting into the wind

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:00:42 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

05:52 I had every intention of getting more stuff done last night, but I just ran completely out of energy. I was asleep by eight. #
10:09 Every #WWDC iPhone session has long lines. If you don't get there early you don't get in. #
13:43 Third iPhone session of the day for me is about to start. Also did a lab on webkit embedding. #wwdc #
15:29 @stevecooley I agree! Every room has the same stoopid playlist. I'm getting pretty tired of it by now. #wwdc #
17:52 Installing the Snow Leopard pre-release on my work 'puter. Time to go to dinner while that runs I guess. #wwdc #
18:25 Soaking up some free food and beer at the appcelerator party. Must check Brandon's list for more. #wwdc #
18:30 Brandon's #WWDC party list: bit.ly/27k7I #
19:00 Now at the Paralells party. Waiting for a beer. #wwdc #
20:05 At my fourth party (Mobclix) of the night, a Bushmills in hand. I also accidently crashed a private party, but they let me in anyway. #wwdc #
20:18 @dj_ir0ngruve Wish you were here? I do! You'd love this! #wwdc #
21:03 Made it back to my room by 9. Snow Leopard had finished installing - but it already wanted to install a couple of updates. :-/ #wwdc #
21:05 Well, all installs done. Hello Safari 4! #wwdc #
21:08 @jay_lake Dude! I wish... Well, you know what I wish. Except you may not know that one wish is to be there and give you a bear-hug. #
21:49 Blog post: I want to kick the big C in the nads! jackwilliambell.livejournal.com/231360.html #
21:58 Screw it. I'm going to take a glass of scotch and a cigar outside and I'm going to ruminate upon all what's wrong with the world! #
22:58 @markph Go snow dude! It's cool! ;-) #
23:44 @markph Just pop in the disk and run the install. Takes about an hour. #

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I want to kick the big C in the nads!

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:48:28 GMT

Some might say I've reached that time of life. You know, when your friends talk more about their health problems than their projects. I say screw that!

I've lost a spouse to cancer. I have a friend fighting it tooth and nail right now. I have another friend dealing with mysterious blinding headaches (of the 'get that woman into the MRI' kind). And, you know what? I'm pissed.

I want to kick the big C square in the nads right now. Hard enough to send it to its knees. Then I want to knock it over and jump up and down on the body a few times. The whole time I'd be shouting obscenities and insults, running through every language I can swear in. ("Su madre es puta you schistkopffen! Matter choad!")

But I can't. I can't do a thing except be there for them. (And, here in San Francisco, I can't even do that.) As much as the very depths of my scottish soul wants to kick ass on the thing that hurts the people I love there just isn't a damn thing else I can do.

If this was a story I could make it into a thing I could hurt and visit payback upon. If this was a myth I could track down the essence of it and meet it in its lair. If this was a fable I could somehow come to terms with it.

But this is the real world. And I feel helpless.

Edited to add: So, I got maudlin (partly because of the beer I drank at the parties I went to tonight) and I took a glass of single malt and a cigar down to the parking garage to get stinkin'.

There I spent an instructive hour talking to the parking attendants. One was from Turkministan and the other from Turkey. Both were here on student visas getting their master's degrees in subjects they couldn't pursue at home. Both came here after privileged lives at home to work menial jobs our own natives wouldn't take in order to put themselves through college. Both could see the warts of this country far better than a native (even one as travelled as myself) and both wished they could stay here after completing their studies. (And both knew that there was little chance they would ever get a work visa.)

So, maybe there is something good in this world after all. Something worth celebrating. I'm not sure I know what it is right now, but I do know that I respect those two young guys and hope that they take back with them the good things they have learned here. Even if they go to places which fail to reward hard work and intelligence even as little as we do.

If they could see something here of value, something they wished they could have, why shouldn't I?

Shouting into the wind

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:01:08 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

05:35 Need to rub sleep out of eyes and get going. That line for the keynote is probably already getting long. #wwdc #
06:16 And the line is already around the building! twitpic.com/6wgi5 #
07:55 We've moved inside and are now in another line. By this one has food and coffee. twitpic.com/6wlzv #
08:56 Well the excitement is palpable. They might actually be letting us in soon. twitpic.com/6wqjp #
09:25 False alarm I guess. Line is not moving. #wwdc #
09:26 Moooo mooo. #wwdc #
10:04 Finally in the auditorium and seated. Let the follies begin! #wwdc #
10:07 New unibody 15" Macbook pro with better battery. #
10:13 Updated 13" Macbook too. #wwdc #
10:28 Lots of nice features coming in Snow Leopard. Plus Safari 4 is available today. #wwdc #
10:33 Coverflow and search in history for Safari 4. #wwdc #
10:38 New threading model for multicore! #wwdc #
10:40 Leveraging OpenGL video support for non-graphics computation: OpenCL. #wwdc #
10:43 Built-in Exchange support. Macs now at Enterprise parity. Only reason to run Windoze is inertia. #wwdc #
10:47 Snow Leopard price is 29 bucks! #wwdc #
11:08 Find my phone service that locates your iPhone on a map. Also a remote wipe command if the phone is stolen. #wwdc #
11:24 Tomtom and other turn by turn based apps now on iPhone. My company needs to get in on this! #wwdc #
11:36 Zipcar car sharing service is map enabled. You can find and reserve a car via the map. #wwdc #
11:38 Zipcar service has a remote control with horn honk and door unlock. Competition for us? Or another customer? #wwdc #
11:43 iPhone OS 3.0 ships June 17. #wwdc #
11:47 They have just officially announced the iPhone 3GS. A faster iPhone! #wwdc #
11:55 iPhone 3GS. Better camera with video sopport. Also voice control. #wwdc #
12:08 Keynote over. No surprise Steve Jobs speech. :-( #wwdc #

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Shouting into the wind

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:00:18 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

10:15 Had breakfast and registered for #WWDC. Was admonished to get in line for tomorrow's keynote *now*. I guess I get up early tomorrow. #
10:18 Am told my #WWDC badge is a hot ticket; I need to keep a close eye on it. Should I scalp it for 20 grand and spend week in Acapolco instead? #
10:54 The #WWDC - kind of underwhelming, no? twitpic.com/6ubk6 #
10:57 #WWDC shirt closeup. twitpic.com/6ubva #
11:45 Got my #WWDC app installed on the iPhone. I would like to see something like this for other conventions. #
11:53 Brent's #WWDC tips: bit.ly/Bomo3 #
11:53 Brandon's #WWDC party list: bit.ly/27k7I #
12:42 Dissapointment of the day: John Walker's is closed on Sundays. www.johnwalker.com/ #whiskey #
13:14 Coffee at Peet's on Mission. Then back to hotel and do some work for a change. #
13:28 Some kind of event here with music and picketers waving Isreali flags. twitpic.com/6urpw #
13:32 Trying my first Beard Papa creampuff. Good, but I'm not sure I understand the excitement. #
13:51 (For the confused.) This is Beard Papa: bit.ly/IhIuz #
13:52 Now back in my hotel room and busy working. Honest boss! #
13:54 Yes, my boss follows me on Twitter. Not a problem! Never say anything on the Internet you don't want your mom or your boss to read anyway! #
15:07 @Scobleizer, you going to #WWDC? If 'yes', hope I get a chance to say 'hi'. If 'no', I'm in S.F. and will be at the Tonga room Wednesday. #
17:41 Tom just dragged me off to Cafe Trieste. The original Beat coffee shop. #
17:54 Coit tower. twitpic.com/6vhjh #
18:12 View from the base of Coit tower. Alcatraz in the bay. twitpic.com/6vj43 #
20:10 Just finished a wonderful meal at an Italian restaurant. Yes, it did require more wine. #
20:13 Good food here: twitpic.com/6vt9g #
23:52 Back to my room after exploring the Italian and (what's left of the) Beat neighborhoods of San Francisco; places not on my radar before. #
23:57 @natetrue I think the great philosopher Geddy Lee said it best: "I will choose free will." #
23:57 Need to get some sleep now. Must get up early to get in line for the #WWDC keynote. #

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Shouting into the wind

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 11:00:30 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

04:56 At the airport. Through security. In waiting mode. #wwdc #
08:46 At S.F. Airport waiting for my ride. Next on the agenda: winery tours. #wwdc #
10:19 Breakfast at Nini's in Burlingame. Off to Half Moon Bay. #
11:55 I have finally made a major geek pilgrimage: a vist to PARC. #
12:06 On a drive-by tour if the famous garages of silicon valley. #
12:54 Sampling at Cooper-Garrod estate vinyards. #
13:46 At Picchetti Bros. #
14:56 The view from Ridge winery is amazing! #
19:21 Had a marvelous (and strenuous) hike earlier. #
19:22 Now in an Argentinian restaraunt and, yes, more wine on the table. #
22:09 Finally checked into my hotel after much wine and food with good company. This has really been a fun day, but I am bushed. Time to sleep. #

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Shouting into the wind

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:00:48 GMT

Twittering as jackwilliambell.

09:30 Forsooth! I concoct an elixer of courage. xkcd.com/593/ #
11:15 My politics: A hate of organized political camps, dressed in social liberal clothes, accessorized with distrust of both big biz and big gov #
22:27 Six more hours and I'm off to San Francisco for #WWDC -- who else is going? #
22:30 Just saw #Up. Go see this movie! Take a kid with you! If you can, go see it in 3D! #movies #pixar #
23:01 Blog post: Nipple, nipple -- jackwilliambell.livejournal.com/230077.html #

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